The effect of thermal treatment on the 57Fe Mössbauer spectrum of beryl

Abstract

Mossbauer spectra (MS) of blue, green and yellow beryl (ideally Be3Al2Si6O18) containing approximately 1% of iron were obtained at 295 and 500 K. Room temperature (RT) spectra of both blue and green samples showed the presence of an asymmetric Fe2+ doublet (ΔE Q~2.7 mm/s, δ~1.1 mm/s), with a very broad low-velocity peak. There is no clear evidence for the presence of a ferric component. The MS of the yellow sample at RT consists of an intense central absorption with parameters typical for Fe3+ (ΔE Q~0.4 mm/s, δ~0.29 mm/s), plus an apparently symmetrical Fe2+ doublet. This sample acquires a light-blue shade upon heating in air at about 620 K. Thermal treatments at high temperatures caused no significant changes in the MS, but the green and yellow beryl acquire a blue colour. All these results are interpreted in relation to the existence of channel water and the distribution of iron among the available crystallographic sites.